Exceptions
by Elphie Marky
Summary: When Mark was invited to his former lab partner's birthday party, he never imagined he would be playing spin the bottle with his crush. teen!MarkRoger


Notes: Written for cameragirl. There's a few tour cast references in here :)  
Disclaimer: I don't own it.

* * *

Mark stood at his locker, neatly stacking his physics, anatomy, and calculus notebooks on top of their respective textbooks. He sighed, still stressed about his fourth period AP English test. Closing his locker and turning around, Mark was surprised to find the curly-haired girl who was not only his lab partner last year, but the president of the drama club and one of the most popular girls in school.

"Hey," she said, twiddling with a small, white envelope in her hands.

"Hi, Maureen," he greeted nervously, unsure as to why someone like Maureen Johnson would be talking to someone like him. "Uh, how are you?"

"I'm great, thanks," she smiled brightly. "Here, I have this for you." She dangled the envelope in front of his face.

He took it, examining it carefully. His name was written in neat cursive across the front. "What is it?" He looked at her quizzically.

"It's an invitation to my sweet sixteen party," she said. "Hope you can make it," she added before walking away.

Mark shoved the invitation in his backpack. When he arrived in Government class, he opened it while waiting for class to begin. The invitation was pink and green, with drama masks decorating the edges. The party was scheduled for Friday night. His favorite show was played on Friday nights, and he hadn't missed it in years. He wasn't particularly close with Maureen, although they had bonded somewhat during lab and done numerous projects together at their own homes. They had spent time together and got along, but they weren't friends. She had barely talked to him since chemistry class ended last June. But maybe he would consider attending; maybe he would make an exception for Maureen.

--

After an exceptionally long day and a surprisingly easy English test, Mark walked home and made his way toward the phone. Just before he began dialing, his mother entered the kitchen with a basket of laundry on her hip.

"Hi, sweetie," she greeted. "Who are you calling?"

"Uh, I got invited to a birthday party," he answered. "I'm just calling her to let her know I can make it."

"Oh a girl!" she gushed. "Is she cute? What's her name?"

"It's Maureen, my lab partner from last year," he answered. "And she probably just invited me because she's invited every other junior in the entire school. And she's nice I guess."

"There won't be any alcohol, right? Will her parents be there?" Mrs. Cohen asked, her parenting instincts showing.

"I don't know, but if there is, I won't drink any," he promised, "and I'm sure her parents will be there."

"All right, then RSVP," she approved before leaving the kitchen, leaving Mark alone to call Maureen.

--

Mark walked nervously up the path to Maureen's doorstep on Friday night, a small box containing Maureen's present held tightly in his hand. When she greeted him at the door, he felt like an outcast in his khakis and teal sweater vest compared the other boys wearing jeans and button down shirts.

"Hey Mark, I'm glad you came," Maureen smiled. She was dressed in a denim skirt and a light purple tank top.

"Happy birthday," he said, handing her the present.

"Thanks, come in," she opened the door a little wider to allow him entrance.

Mark entered Maureen's house, feeling awkward. He made his way over to the couch, sitting next to Roger Davis and his band. He had never really talked to any of them before, but he didn't see anyone else he knew. He knew Roger, a good looking musician, from Calculus; they were both fighting for top average in that class. No one really knew that Roger was any good at math, or school in general, but anyone that was in that class knew he could be very intelligent if he tried, although he didn't try very hard often.

"Hi," he said weakly. He was afraid to talk to them. Geeks didn't mix with punks at school, so why would they converse at a social event? Roger shocked Mark by speaking back to him, but it seemed Roger was making an exception for his social habits by speaking to a nerd.

"Mark, right?" Roger asked, eyeing up the scrawny blond.

He nodded, shifting nervously. "We're in Calc together."

"Yeah," he said, before introducing the rest of his band. When the other guys got up to refill their sodas, Roger turned to the uncomfortable teenager next to him. "You know, Maureen was didn't think you were going to come."

"Did she not want me to come?"

"No, no," he assured. "She wanted you to, but she was afraid that you would think it was a joke or something."

"Oh." At least he now knew that the invitation was genuine. "We really haven't talked since last year."

"Right."

The conversation died, leaving the two in a brief awkward silence. It was broken up by Maureen, who was waving an empty, glass Coca Cola bottle around.

"Spin the bottle time!" she yelled, grinning wickedly.

Roger got up and headed for the growing circle on the floor. "You coming?"

Mark was hesitant to play. He didn't think anyone would want to kiss him, and he was a little scared to play. He wasn't sure how good of a kisser he was; his only kiss was with Nanette Himmelfarb in the back of the Temple when his parents weren't looking. "Sure," he replied, following Roger. Mark sat between Maureen and a girl he didn't know with Roger directly across from him.

"Okay, rules for how I play," Maureen announced. "You spin it and go in the closet and kiss whoever you get. Then the person next to whom it landed on spins next. And no do-overs. Got it?" After a series of nods, she spoke again. "I'm the birthday girl, so I get to go first." She set the Coke bottle in the middle of the circle, giving it a hard spin. When it stopped, it pointed towards a jock named Bryce. Mark remembered him from physics class. Maureen grinned wickedly, the quarterback following her to the closet like a lost puppy.

When they came back, the dark-eyed boy next to Bryce prepared to spin. Jed, one of Maureen's theatre friends, took a spin and waltzed over towards the closet with a girl named Tracy, who had a "reputation". The game continued, until it eventually became Roger's spin. He twirled the bottle around, leaving it spin until it eventually came to a slow stop. Making its last few spins around the circle, it finally stopped. Pointing straight towards Mark.

Mark's head spun when realization hit. He looked nervously from the bottle to Roger.

"Haaave fuuun," Maureen sang with a tiny giggle.

Scowling, Roger stood up and walked towards the closet. Mark slowly got to his feet and followed, hands in his pockets.

Roger shut the door and stared at Mark. Mark gazed at his feet, watching the toe of his right shoe pick at the small tear between the rubber sole and brown fabric of his left shoe. Gathering up the courage, Mark finally spoke.

"Look, we don't have to do this if you don't want to," he said. "We can just lie."

Leaning against a gray wool coat, Roger said, "I don't step down from dares. I'll do it." He stepped forward nervously, his hand gently touching Mark's pale cheek.

Instinctively, Mark shied away from the touch. "Uh, sorry," he muttered.

Roger's hand fell back to his side. "Look, this doesn't mean anything, you know. I'm just doing it because I have to, not because I want to. I'm not gay."

"Me neither," Mark said. "I like girls too."

"Oh." Roger nodded in understanding, knowing Mark would probably enjoy this more than he would. "Well, do you want to get this over with?"

"I guess." Mark took another step forward.

Roger's hand rose to meet Mark's cheek, gently cupping it in his hand. His face leaned closer, until Roger's lips hovered over Mark's. Mark made the final move, touching their lips together. An immediate warmth filled Mark as he felt Roger kiss him back. Although it wasn't necessary and Roger assured Mark of his sexuality, Mark could feel Roger's tongue at his lips, begging for entrance. Mark opened his mouth a little, allowing Roger to come explore. He could feel Roger's hands in his hair, on the back of his neck. Tentatively, he found his own hands gripping the leather jacket that seemed to never leave Roger's back.

Outside the door, the others were growing impatient. "It's been like three minutes," Maureen said, "what could they possibly be doing in there?"

The others shrugged. "Open the door," someone yelled.

Maureen grinned evilly, making her way to the closet. Pulling open the door, she let out a small gasp when she saw the boys engrossed in their kiss. Mark pulled away slightly, his eyes widening at the sight of the birthday girl. Roger didn't notice her presence as he pushed his lips against Mark's again.

Knowing they wouldn't be done anytime soon, she quickly slammed the door in respect of the privacy they seemed to want and turned to her other guests. "Time for cake!" She happily bounced into the kitchen, the rest of the party following.

Back in the closet, Roger pulled away after the door slammed. Instead of leaving the situation open for an awkward silence, Roger spoke. "We should go. I heard her say cake."

Mark nodded, moving his hands from around Roger towards his pockets. Before the one closer to Roger was able to safely tuck itself away in the tan fabric, Roger took it in his own, offering a smile as an explanation. Mark slowly released a nervous breath as his fingers laced with Roger's. Roger opened the door, tugging on Mark's arm.

"Are you coming?"

Mark looked at him questioningly. "I thought you said you weren't…"

Roger stopped Mark before he could finish. "I'm not, but I think for you I can make an exception."

-fin


End file.
